Sunday, October 02, 2011

Nuit Blanche is gigantic! The all night art festival starts at 7pm on Saturday, October 1, 2011 and continues until the sun rises Sunday morning. Several streets including Bay Street, Queen Street and Yonge Street are closed to vehicle traffic and hold some of the art installations. The Heart Machine flames light up the night in the photos immediately below, while colourful lasers light up Nathan Phillips Square as part of Flightpath Toronto, 2011. Some of the best stuff was not official Nuit Blanche events but were instead the work of individuals or small groups to express creativity and their own brand of art.

Here is a short YouTube video of the flames during the early morning rain of Nuit Blanche 2011.

Besides the cold winds foretelling winters coming the other sign of Nuit Blanche is the crowds jamming the streets, alleys and buildings of downtown Toronto. The crowd seemed younger this year and the event more of an outdoor party, seemingly ready to go off in an orgy of drunken nonsense. Sounds of sirens constantly filled the night air even though there were more security personal than police on the streets.

Biking around was the best way to try to find the largest number of projects in the shortest amount of time. Crowds did not really start to thin until close to 4am. This was just before the rain started and impacted some of the art installations.

Soon, 2011 in Commerce Court Courtyard.

I packed it in at 20 to 6 in the morning and I only saw a small percentage of the program. I miss the areas where works that have previously been shown - like Liberty Village and there wasn't much in the Distillery District besides a small circus, which I missed, and the food trucks that circled an area like so many covered wagons.

A full Nathan Phillips Square, the sky was also full of flying people.

Crowds at Bay and Queen.

See more of the excitement after the jump.

The green man wanders along the street.

Giant Balloon Face on the side of a building....

and two ladies in sparkling, metal wigs.

Sharing transportation.

I missed just about everything in the Distillery District but I still liked the glowing orbs.

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